Went to Core Collective for the first time last night off. First off, what a gorgeous gym just off High Street Kensington. When I checked in, the lovely girl at the desk knew it was my first time, took me for a quick tour explained how the classes work, told me a little about my trainer, facilities ect. It was really nice to go into a really top of the line gym filled with beautiful people and made to feel right at home where as it can otherwise be super intimidating. I did Accelerate which is a spin class. The bikes were top of the line, with digital monitors telling you exactly what intensity level you were on, rather than just guessing by turning the crank half a turn. I also liked that it kept calories and time. The room was dark, and the music was on point, was like working out in a club. Our instructor James, one of the head trainers was fantastic, the class flew by with tons of variation and was a killer, but in a good way. I also appreciated that he was thorough of little details (shoulders relaxed, heads up) because you can get a really sore neck from buckling down and scrunching all up in spin. My posture and core thanks you! It was completely full and its obvious why. Make sure to book early to ensure your place. The locker rooms are really nice, showers, hair dryers, full body towels if you do decide to shower there, and lockers with digital locks, so there is no worry about losing a key. Also you can order a protein shake ahead of time that will be ready for you at the desk post workout. The last thing I noticed and it seems silly, but it smelled so good in there, like a spa. I don't think I have ever described a gym as smelling good, and that is an almost impossible feat with everyone drenched in sweat. But, there you have it Core Collective, has ticked all the boxes. read more

I was visiting London from the US and using my Class Pass. (I have to say the London Class Pass options are amazing.) So I decided to check out some of the Core classes after reading the reviews. Core is located in the back of a building and around the corner from Byron. Its a very upscale, modern facility. I took Velocity, Accelerate and Resistance. I spin a lot in Los Angeles and the spinning in London whether you go here or Psycle is just not like spinning in the US or aka Soul Cycle/Flywheel. Out of all the classes Accelerate was my least favorite as they didn't have clip in shoes. (only if you brought your own). You need your sneakers to strap in which I haven't done strapped in spinning in years. However the spinning style isn't as core focused as US spinning with a lot of hunching over the bike instead of holding your core up. However I thought both the Velocity and Resistance were both excellent classes. Loved the instructors as I had never taken classes like this and they explained all the moves patiently. They pushed you just enough but it wasn't like bootcamp where they are yelling at you. Very experienced, nice and professional. I esp liked Resistance as my class was only 5 people and intimate. I felt almost like I was getting a personal training session. Music was fantastic in both classes which makes the time fly by. The lockers are gorgeous as well as the showers. The cafe upstairs is very cute and sadly I wanted one day to sit there and eat or have a cup of coffee but didn't have time to do it. Also there is a Whole Foods near the tube station from Core that post workout I grabbed a smoothie and protein bar for the way home. Overall def recommend this place. read more

I checked out the "velocity" HIIT class at this beautiful facility, it was a great workout lasting about 45 minutes (I wish it was longer actually) and the class was a good sweat with the instructor doing demos and cheering on the attendees as well as advising on the form. The studio is posh and clean, a little dim in lighting with loud but not ridiculously loud music. New place. Locker room and common areas were exceptional with the amenities and style. I took an off peak timed class (930 am) before heading to the airport and there were about 8 in the studio so plenty of room. They also had a nice looking spin studio and a yoga room, I'll be sure to return and take more classes next time Im in town. read more

I arrived 2 minutes late and was not let in due to their so called 'lateness policy'. I was absolutely gutted as had up and to this point been having a superb experience on Class Pass and now attend some new gyms regularly and advocate them to all my friends. As a first time customer I was absolutely incensed because the otherwise very nice girl on reception told me I had been informed of this policy via email when I made my reservation and, like many, I may have overlooked this when I made the booking especially I had a 100% positive experience on Class Pass up until then. Unfortunately this policy was set in stone so I asked to speak with the gym owner who reiterated the policy and explained I had been notified and that the reason was it causes distress to other attendees and does not allow sufficient warm up (to be fair he did offer to go on standby for the next class if someone dropped out). He then more or less walked off - although I'm not going to hold him up on that as I caught him on the fly - but surely this was the moment to win over a new customer and offer a free class another day. I left and found a local pub to sit and wait on my next meeting and with a bit of spare time I started to re-check all of Core Collectives emails and this policy was not mentioned. I couldn't believe it. So, being the legal nerd I am, I went on to their own website's Terms and Conditions and this policy wasn't mentioned there either. I was absolutely livid and returned to the club and explained that there was absolutely no way I or anyone on Class Pass could have known this and the girl on reception admitted that she had got confused with the emails sent to members when they reserve a class directly. This means a Class Pass first time visitor or anyone not booking directly has no way of knowing actual policy at the time of reservation unless they make a double booking and then cancel the direct one. Unfortunately the owner who I met the first time was not available then so I left absolutely incensed not just this but with no offer or a later day free class. While can I understand certain provisions should be made for lateness, I believe not letting someone in two minutes late due to transport issues (but still charging them and taking the money for the class) is very extreme and I will not be recommending this studio to anyone. And to then inform your customers wrongly and act like it's still their fault when corrected is just wrong, period. On a side note it was also explained to me that people already in a class can be traumatised by late entries. This is not a meditation session this is a HIIT class designed to raise the heart rate and create a team spirit. I was born in London and have been going to gyms all my life and I'm sure I'd intervene from my star jumps if I ever saw someone blocked from entry for this reason as I am sure a PT would do too. This was my first truly bad experience on Class Pass but this is a boom sector and with the right funding behind you it's hard not to build and expand a gym chain right now and I am sure Core Collective will grow. Good luck to them. Having never run a gym (although I do have a small but growing activewear brand) I may also have misunderstood the policy benefits or the needs of their customer base. But being totally wrong about your own communications and then treating a first time customer like this is inexcusable. I hope for the benefit of Core Collective's future customers they amend their policies and comms and be a bit more human when new customers who cross town but are slightly delayed arrive in good faith. I also hope this review plays a minor role in Core Collective fine-tuning their growth as I am sure that otherwise they are an excellent gym and, being the founder of two early stage startups myself, I hope they expand further. I, for one, am unlikely to ever know. read more

This is one fancy little studio! Came here after work for the TRX resistance class. I have done similar classes in the USA and loved it so much I actually have my own TRX at home. I wasn't sure what to expect, but I learnt so many new moves! The teacher was really friendly and welcoming and I really enjoyed my session, the 45 minutes really flew by. I enjoyed the fact that there were only 6 of us in the class. The changing rooms are really chic and reminded me of a spa, complete with hairdryers and GHD hair straighteners. The lockers have automatic locks too, so no need to worry about bringing a padlock. I really enjoyed the studio and look forward to coming back to try out some more of the classes that they have to offer. read more

I found this gym while I was on a business trip in London because it is a ClassPass member. It is one of the "ultra-modern" styled city gyms, with awesome decor, an impressive layout, great instructors, and an interesting mix of classes including HIIT ("Velocity"), spinning ("Accelerate") and yoga. I have only done through ClassPass, but I believe like other modern class-based gyms (1Rebel, SoulCycle, etc) their standard membership is entirely class-based pay-as-you-go. I have been several times for Velocity and Accelerate classes and have always enjoyed it. The instructors are professionals and very experienced, and their tends to be a good mix of other attendees in each class. Every time I have felt like I got a great workout. I was rather saddened to get an email from them a couple weeks ago saying that they were going to drop the ClassPass program, but fortunately they worked it out and are staying with it so hopefully I can continue to go! Additional note: they recently opened a kitchen in the upstairs/lobby area that serves a lot of really healthy food for good prices. You can have a great breakfast after your workout, or just grab a shake and head out for the day. Definitely recommend for anyone who has ClassPass or wants to swing by to try out a quick workout. read more

My favorite studio I've been to ever (and I've been to quite a lot). I didn't get to go last time I was here but have been here twice. It's everything you could ask for with 4 studios (think yoga, TRX, spin, pilates, rowing) with the cleanest facilities and the cutest cafe upstairs serving healthy items and tonics featuring ashwaganda and tumeric. Couldn't ask for more!! read more

The studio looks gorgeous but for charging £22 for 45 minutes class they are in desperate need to improve their customer experience. If you get in the studio a minute late you won't be allowed in, no matter if you booked it already and if you made it to reception on time but the queue in the toilet made you late. They only have 2 toilets in the female changing room, while their classes accommodate 20+ people, so at busy times queue is expected. The instructor was EXTREMELY RUDE and kicked me out of the studio with the words "It is 3 minutes past 11, YOU ARE OUT". Even at yoga studios they cut people some slack and allow you to be 5 minutes late, even though this could potentially ruin the calm atmosphere for the rest of the class, but not core collective, you are not allowed to miss 1 minute of warm up here. I would say this is quite inconvenient in London where one late tube can easily make you a minute late. The staff (apart from the teacher Paddy Colman) was apologising but said they don't know if my class would be refunded or if I would be given another one. read more